Google Maps has blocked evaluations for the Gulf of Mexico, after criticism of its resolution to label it “Gulf of America” for customers within the US.
The tech large updated the name of the location on Wednesday after President Donald Trump ordered it to be modified in official authorities paperwork.
Clicking on the label for the Gulf in Google Maps now brings up a be aware saying “posting is presently turned off”.
Google additionally seems to have deleted some unfavourable evaluations left within the wake of its identify change.
The BBC has requested the corporate for remark.
“Some sorts of locations usually tend to obtain posts, like evaluations, that violate Google’s insurance policies,” the label added to the Gulf outcome states.
“To stop this, Google has turned off posting.”
The latest evaluate left for the location result on Google Maps now seems to be from a month in the past.
Some customers are claiming on social media that unfavourable evaluations they posted to object to the change have been eliminated, and have accused Google of “censorship.”
So-called “review-bombing” has grow to be a preferred type of on-line protest in opposition to corporations or companies that seem in Google Search or Maps outcomes.
The tactic has additionally been deployed to control an app’s rankings on cell marketplaces.
In 2020, folks used it to criticise President Trump’s then-proposal to ban TikTok – reportedly leaving hundreds of critical reviews on his re-election marketing campaign app on Apple’s App Retailer.
It was additionally utilized by GameStop merchants to hit again at stock-trading apps similar to Robinhood that launched buying and selling restrictions amid the 2021 market upset.
Google says it takes motion to stop abuse of its evaluate mechanisms through the use of automated strategies to detect “uncommon patterns” of exercise – similar to a location or enterprise having a sudden spike in a single star evaluations.
It provides motion could embody quickly disabling contributions to listings or eradicating “policy-violating content material” to stop abuse of its instruments or faux evaluations.
Forbes reported on Thursday that the corporate had “tacitly admitted” to eradicating evaluations criticising the Gulf location’s renaming on Maps.
The BBC has requested Google to substantiate whether or not it has deleted them.
It comes after Google stated in a blog post on Monday that US customers would see “Gulf of America” substitute Gulf of Mexico on Maps.
It stated this adopted a “longstanding coverage” of reflecting identify adjustments up to date in official US authorities sources.
The identify would stay unchanged in Mexico and the remainder of the world would see “Gulf of America” added subsequent to its present identify in brackets, Google added.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum wrote a letter to the company asking them to not rename the Gulf in a letter in late January.
In the meantime, Apple has additionally modified the identify for US customers of its personal Maps app.
The White Home highlighted it in a put up on X (previously Twitter) on Wednesday – with a picture of Apple Maps displaying “Gulf of America” instead of Gulf of Mexico.
